Materials:
pencils, drawing paper, black sharpie markers, Photoshop, scanners, Wacom tablets and a
Macbeth
book for each student.
Activity One
Students will look at the elements of a graphic novel (as previously discussed in the narrative). Students will look at
Romeo and Juliet by
John McDonald (Adapter), William Shakespeare (Author), Clive Bryant (Editor). Students will answer the questions below. Students will identify the basic elements of the graphic novel, mentioned earlier and then answer the questions below.
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Description - What is visually happening in the scenes?
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Analysis – How does the illustrator make use of composition? Is the page dynamic in the way it tells the story? Explain.
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Interpretation – What is communicated by means of gesture? How does the illustrator convey emotion? How does the character’s environment function? Does it function as a place for the character to be, or as an actual character its self? Explain. What is the perspective of the viewer?
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Judgment – What aspects of the work do you consider the visual and/or conceptual strength of the work?
Warm-up
As a warm-up activity the teacher will select faces from the
Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists
by Mark Simon to project on screen
.
These faces will show a range of emotions. Students will describe: What emotion does this face represent? Interpret: What the person’s face might be communicating.
Activity two
Initially, for each activity, students should create multiple quick sketches of each scene to determine what composition will work best.
Students will begin reading
Macbeth:
Act II scene i lines 1-30. The teacher will review the scene with students and discuss what is going on in the scene.
Students will break into two groups. One group will illustrate the scene from Macbeth’s point of view, while the other group will illustrate the scene from Banquo’s point of view. A note on point of view: Students should consider point of view as a graphic term, related to the visual focal point of the scene. For example, a scene from Banquo’s visual standpoint may imply some of his thoughts and emotions.
When the students have finished with their graphic panels they will come back together to critique their work. Work will be divided into two sides: Banquo’s point of view and Macbeth’s. Again, students will establish a visual perspective that will lead the reader to each character’s internal perspective. Students will answer the following questions about their work:
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Description - What is visually happening in the scenes?
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Analysis – How does the illustrator make use of composition? Is the page dynamic in the way it tells the story? Explain. Do the colors work to convey the mood of the scene? Explain.
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Interpretation – What is communicated by means of gesture? How does the illustrator convey emotion? How does the character’s environment function: Is it a character its self or just an environment? Explain. Banquo mentions the lack of light in the night sky: How/how much does the illustrator show this in his or her work? What is the perspective of the viewer?
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Judgment – What aspects of the work do you consider the visual and/or conceptual strength of the work? Is the story better, visually, when it’s told from Macbeth’s point of view or Banquo’s? Explain your point of view and support it with examples.
Activity 3
Macbeth
: Act II scene i lines 33-64
Students will begin with the scene:
Macbeth:
Act II scene i lines 33-64. The teacher will review the scene with students and discuss what is happening. For this scene students will be dealing with the theme of “Seen and Unseen,” and they will have to make more choices in terms of what details to emphasize accordingly.
When the students have finished with their graphic panels they will come back together to critique their work. Students will answer the following questions about their work:
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Description - What is visually happening in the scenes?
-
Analysis – How does the illustrator make use of composition? Is the page dynamic in the way it tells the story? Explain. How effectively do the colors work to convey the mood of the scene?
-
Interpretation – What is communicated by means of gesture? How does the illustrator convey emotion? How does the character’s environment function? Is it a character itself or just an environment? Did the illustrator choose to illustrate the dagger? Why or why not? What is the perspective of the viewer?
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Judgment – What aspects of the work do you consider the visual and/or conceptual strength of the work? Did anyone choose not to include the imaginary dagger? Why/why not? Visually speaking, is it better to leave the dagger in or leave it in? Explain your point of view and supprt with examples.
Activity 4
Macbeth
: Act IV scene iii lines 84 to 99
Students will begin reading
Macbeth:
Act IV scene iii lines 84 to 99. The teacher will review the scene with students and discuss what is going on in the scene.
Students will break into two groups. One group will illustrate the scene from Macduff’s visual point of reference, while the other group will illustrate the scene from Malcolm’s visual point of reference. Students should be reminded to consider how they will illustrate the ruse from Malcolm’s speech about being an even worse king than Macbeth. How will students illustrate what Malcolm is trying to project to Macduff? Will Malcolm let the reader in on what he knows to be the truth? How far should they go in illustrating Malcolm’s purported lecherous traits? How will students visually indicate an interpretation of the degree of Malcolm’s deceptions of Macduff? When Malcolm lists the qualities of a good king, will this moment be shown through more of a type solution or a combination of character and type?
When the students have finished with their graphic panels they will come back together to critique their work. Work will be divided into two sides Macduff’s point of view and Malcolm’s. Students will answer the following questions about their work.
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Description - What is visually happening in the scenes? Are any thought panels used? Why/why not?
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Analysis – How does the illustrator make use of composition? Is the page dynamic in the way it tells the story? Explain.
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Interpretation – What is communicated by means of gesture? How does the illustrator convey emotion? Does it effectively convey the very different emotions of each character? Explain. How does the character’s environment function? As a character itself or simply as an environment? Explain. How does Macduff react to Malcolm’s test? What is the perspective of the viewer?
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Judgment – What aspects of the work do you consider the visual and/or conceptual strength of the work? Is the story better, visually, when it’s told from Macduff’s point of view or from Malcolm’s? Does Malcolm let the viewer in on his test of Macduff? Explain. If thought panels are used, how effective are they and does the color scheme support the visual image? Explain your answer and support it up examples.
Activity 5
Macbeth
: Act V scene iii lines 37 to 62
Students will begin by reading
Macbeth:
Act V scene iii lines 37 to 62. The teacher will review the scene with students and discuss what is going on in the scene.
For this scene students will again be taking two different points of view. Students who make Macbeth the visual focal point of their illustrations will need to make decisions about his facial expressions and mannerisms. Should Macbeth’s expression show his cynicism about medicine and the doctor’s ability to help his wife? What physical details could suggest such an affect? Does Macbeth look different from Act II scene i lines 1-30? So much has happened since he first heard the prophecies: Has his situation taken a toll on his physical appearance?
Students who make the doctor the visual focal point of their illustrations will need to make decisions about his facial expressions and mannerisms as well. How is the doctor reacting to Macbeth? We already know the doctor believes there is no cure for Lady Macbeth, does he view Macbeth as lunatic as well? Do you get the impression the doctor will be leaving as soon as possible?
When the students have finished with their graphic panels they will come back together to critique their work. Work will be divided into two sides: Macbeth’s point of view and the doctor’s. Students will answer the following questions about their work.
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Description - What is visually happening in the scenes? Are any thought panels used? Why/why not?
-
Analysis – How does the illustrator make use of composition? Is the page dynamic in the way it tells the story? Explain. Do the colors support the emotions in the scene? Explain.
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Interpretation – What is communicated by means of gesture? How does the illustrator convey emotion? Does it effectively convey the very different emotions of each character? How do Macbeth’s expressions compare with the doctor’s? Environment: How do certain aspects of the scene’s environment help to influence the mood and the plot?
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Judgment – What aspects of the work do you consider the visual and/or conceptual strength of the work? Is the story better, visually, when it’s told from Macbeth’s point of view or the doctor’s? Justify. Did anyone include images of Lady Macbeth? Why/why not? Does including Lady Macbeth make the graphic panel stronger visual and in terms of the information it conveys to the viewer? Explain your answer and support it with solid reasoning.